Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The 2020 Hutchinson Community College baseball team has a tough act to follow.

Last season, Ryan Schmidt's Blue Dragons posted a 44-21 record, tied for the Jayhawk West championship with Butler and made it all the way to the Central District Tournament championship game after a scintillating run through the loser's bracket.

Now, as the Blue Dragons get set for their 2020 season debut at defending NJCAA Division II national champion Northern Oklahoma-Enid on Saturday, Schmidt has plenty of question marks about his team.

But he's OK with that.

"When you get into these situations, it's scary, but exciting," said Schmidt, who is 267-145 starting his eighth season with the Blue Dragons. "When you can graduate players like Logan Sartori and Dylan Nedved, who have been the anchors in the middle infield for two years, it opens up a new leadership and opens up an opportunity for new players to emerge.

"We gave good players. We just have to give them the opportunity now to go prove it. There will be some growing pains, but we just looking forward right now to getting our feet wet and see what we've got."

While the Blue Dragons will have nearly an entirely new batting order in 2020, there is a solid group of sophomore pitchers who were part of a pitching staff that produced a 4.54 team ERA and a school record 652 strikeouts last season.

Sophomores Dawson Linder (6-foot-4, 210, RHP, Lincoln, NE) and Brian Skillman (5-11, 175, LHP, Stillwater, OK) will be the Game 1 and Game 2 starters, respectively, for Saturday's doubleheader against NOC-Enid.

Linder worked both as a starter and out of the bullpen last season and had a 2-1 record with a 4.43 earned-run average. Linder had 24 strikeouts and 24 walks in 22 1-3 inning last season. Skillman was a major part of that postseason run last season with two wins in the Region VI Tournament, including a complete-game victory over Fort Scott in the Central District opener. Skillman finished the year with a 2-0 record and 2.25 ERA. He had 32 strikeouts and only 10 walks in 32 innings.

Also returning on the mound are sophomores Cade Fenton (6-3, 205, RHP, Prairie Grove, AR – 1-2, 4.50 ERA), Zach Firmature (5-10, 180, RHP – 1-2, 6.00 ERA), L.J. McDonough (6-3, 190, Blanchard, OK – 1-4, 6.97 ERA) and Ethan Peterson (5-11, 180, Omaha, NE – 0-0, 7.71 ERA).

"We have a lot of interchangeable parts," Schmidt said of his pitching staff. "We were evaluating the pitchers from 1 through 7. Out of the sophomores, we go a lot keeper than Linder and Skillman. "The pitching staff is going to be our anchor."

As far as who fills out the other two weekend rotation spots, a large group of pitchers will battle for those spots. Some of the players in the hunt will be McDonough, Peterson, Firmature, freshman Tyler Delong (6-4, 190, Harrah, OK) and several others, according to Schmidt. Except for the Nos. 1 and 2 spots in the rotation, the Dragons have yet to define the rest of the pitching staff.

"We are deeper this year," Schmidt said. "We have many guys who can throw strikes and throw strikes with multiple pitches. We do have some stuff guys, but not as many as last year. We will use these guys in a multitude of ways. We will have options. There is a lot to be defined yet because this will all evolve as the season goes."

Sophomores Christopher Noble (6-2, 195, Shreveport, LA) and redshirt freshman Cole Cosman (6-0, 185, Wentzville, MO.) return to replace catcher Mac McGuire. "Noble missed the final third of the 2019 season with an injury. Noble is a switch-hitter and Cosman swings from the left side with some pop.

The entire infield will be different for the Blue Dragons in 2020.

Freshman Austin Callahan (6-2, 215, Fremont, NE), Delong have been battling it out at third base. Both Callahan and Delong are left-handed bats.

Three people will rotate in the middle infield. Sophomore Mason Lowe (5-11, 180, Mustang, OK) returns from 2019. Lowe played in 19 games as a freshman and hit .179 with seven hits and five runs scored. Joining Lowe in that rotation will be freshman Drew Reetz (5-11, 190, Elkhorn, NE; brother of Blue Dragon sophomore Will Reetz) and Cade Argo (5-11, 180, Firth, NE).

Redshirt freshman Jenner Steele (6-2, 225, Hollister, MO) will get the start at first base. Both Noble and Will Reetz can fill in as well at first base.

There is returning experience in the outfield with Will Reetz (6-3, 220, Elkhorn, NE) and Jeremiah Ceasar (5-7, 175, Lake Charles, LA).

Reetz's bat cooled off late in the season, finishing with a .247 average with 10 home runs and 29 RBIs. He had a .511 on-base percentage with 27 hit-by-pitches and 16 walks last season. Ceasar is a fleet-footed center fielder who finished strong with a .272 batting average and six stolen bases. Ceasar will likely be out in the first week or two with an injury.

Freshman Britton Mulhurn (5-9, 175, Rayville, LA) and Luke Sartori (6-0, 190, Lincoln, NE – brother of former Blue Dragon Logan Sartori).

"There is a lot of promise there with that group," Schmidt said.

Schmidt is stressing that the 2020 Blue Dragons will look nothing like the record-breaking offense of 2019 that scored 514 runs and launched a team record 88 home runs.

Potentially, though, the 2020 offense will be able pressure opposing pitchers in a much different way.

"This team is more dynamic in what they will be able to do," Schmidt said. "There is a lot more speed positionally. That is a lot more speed up and down the lineup, there might be a little more instinct on the base paths.

"We've been tailoring our practices to run the bases better than we ever have. We want to be able to hit and run, be able to be offensive with the bunt game. We want to be more than just waiting for the double or for the home run to be hit. This team will be able to push tempo."

A challenging non-conference schedule will test the untested Dragons in 2020. After NOC-Enid, the Dragons will play Crowder, Redlands and NEO in Edmond, OK before playing a three-game series at Northeast Texas. Hutchinson will then play Coffeyville in a four-game set – two games at Coffeyville on Feb. 27 and then the 2020 home opener on Feb. 29 with a doubleheader against the Red Ravens at Hobart-Detter Field.

"We like to challenge ourselves early because in four weeks, we will be in conference," Schmidt said. "Our conference top to bottom is uber competitive. We are going to challenge ourselves when we open the league with Barton (March 5, 7)."